Like many of you (I'm sure) I had a set of these cheap plastic storage bins:
Clearly it has become a place for junk...I can't believe I even just shared that picture with you guys. Ick.
Anyways, I do love how great it is for storing away nick-nacks and other miscellaneous stuff. But, the clear plastic drawers left too much for the wandering eye to see, and were less than appealing. I decided to see what I could do to spruce it up a bit.
I grabbed my supplies - scrapbook paper, ruler, pencil, and x-acto knife:
Rather than having everything match, I decided to use a different, but corresponding, pattern of paper for each of the 4 drawers.
First thing I did was measure the inside of the drawer, and cut a piece of paper:
I then cut a slit in the paper, with my x-acto knife, where the handle is:
Next I grabbed my bottle of Mod Podge and a sponge brush:
I then coated the inside of the drawer, from the handle down, with Mod Podge, and laid on my paper. I did my best to smooth out as many of the air bubbles as possible, but some remained. It's ok, not going for perfection here!
I then lifted up the flap above the handle, spread on some more Mod Podge, and then smoothed out the paper:
I then coated the entire sheet of paper with generous layer of Mod Podge. Let it dry, and repeat. I did 2-3 coats of Mod Podge on the back of the paper:
As you can see, bubbles and wrinkles happen. It's not the end of the world, and you will probably drive yourself crazy if you try to get rid of them all.
Here are a couple pictures of how it turned out:
I still think it looks like cheap plastic drawers...but it's an improvement from the clear see-through! Now I can hide all that junk, and no one will know any different! hehehehe...
Happy weekend everyone! Be sure to stop by and check out my
mini-freebie thank you giveaway!
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Hi I am a new follower and I am looking forward to reading your blog. I need to do that to my plastic drawers. Have a great day!
ReplyDeletehttp://thisnthatboutiqueblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisanThatBoutique?ref=si_shop
What a great idea!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea!! I never ever would have thought of that!
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking about doing this to my bins, thanks for showing me a great way to do it! I think I might do this to a few drawers for my daughters' room. Stop by sometime, domesticdeadline.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI think it's a HUGE improvement! Great job! If you have time, you should link up at my party: http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/2011/02/time-to-shine-link-party-7.html : )
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by everyone! Appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteNice improvement. With the printed papers you chose, none of the little wrinkles even show. I'm adding this to my to-do list!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty way to hide all of the "stuff"! Thanks for sharing the idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I think it turned out great!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea! Thank you for sharing! I'm going to try this soon! Have a great week
ReplyDeleteThe plastic containers looks much better now! Great idea and great job.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I am inspired!
ReplyDeleteThis is really darling. I just pulled one of these out of a closet and was going to get rid of it. Thanks for inspiring me to bust out my mod podge!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful idea to cuten up those plastic uglies!!
ReplyDeletebee blessed
mary
This is a great idea! Thank you for sharing. I also just became a new follower and noticed we both live in MA. I'm near Worcester, how bout you?
ReplyDeletehttp://crystalscreations7.blogspot.com/
What a great idea! We have several of these drawers I was thinking of getting rid of. Now I may keep them.
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea! Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! Who would have thought such a simple spruce up would be such a hit!
ReplyDelete@Crystal, I'm just south of the city. About 20 minutes out of Boston!
It definitely looks so much better. I have these drawers in my home. I will try this one. Thanks for linking up.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea....they aren't the prettiest things when you buy them, are they!
ReplyDeleteKelly
That is sooo cute! It really is night and day. Looks so much better!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! thanks for linking up to my first blog party.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I have two of these I use for crafting supplies and don't like the look of them, this is a great solution. =]
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. Certainly dressed them up!
ReplyDeletemegan
craftycpa.blogspot.com
Thanks everyone! I love how much better they look now!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to do this tomorrow!! I was going to put mine in the garage sale pile. I hate when you can see what is being stored! Thanks for saving my storage bins!
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea! I was just about to send 3 sets of these off to the garage sale pile but now I think I'm going to jazz them up and put them back in my daughters rooms!!
ReplyDeleteTerrific idea! I have several of those icky cheap plastic drawers that could use a facelift. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love this! We have these beauties all over our house-I would have never thought of this! I loved your idea so much, I highlighted your post over at my Friday Favorites! Thanks for sharing the creativity!
ReplyDeleteSo glad I inspired so many of you to give those plastic drawers a facelift!
ReplyDeleteand thanks for the feature Chiara, so sweet of you!!
cute idea. found you at designer garden. i have a Wednesday party, i'd love it if you checked it out.
ReplyDeletehttp://typeadecorating.blogspot.com/
Love your creativity, thanks for linking up to my blog bash K.I.S.S. @ The Tattered Tag. Please link up more of your great ideas tomorrow. I too have junk drawers like that, not brave enough to share pics. :)
ReplyDeleteDrop by The Tattered Tag
They look like fantastically cute cheap plastic drawers now!! :) I may try to for my big stacked drawers too.
ReplyDeleteI love this! Thanks for the tutorial. I have a lot of these in my craft room and bathroom cabinets. I'm going to facelift them!!
ReplyDeleteLove that you used a different pattern on each drawer, so much more fun than seeing the same thing over and over. :-) Thanks for linking your projects up this weekend.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, awesome. Such a creative idea!
ReplyDeleteI loved it so much, I featured it on my blog today! Come check it out:
http://justbeckause.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-head-monday.html
Happy Monday!
<3 Becky
justbeckause.blogspot.com
Wow, this project is so inspiring. We all have these draws in some form laying around the house. Thanks so much for sharing and giving inspiration.
ReplyDeleteDonna xx
Love this idea.
ReplyDeleteHow funny! I totally did this in 2009 when my baby was born & we didn't have a nursery. I used a clearance 3-drawer thing from Bed Bath & Beyond, and added scrapbooking paper to the inside. I attached it with tape, though, & that didn't work as well bc it snagged & tore over time. It looked a lot better than messy drawers full of diapers & onesies in our bedroom, tho. Love your version!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea!! I always look at the one in my bathroom and think "they need to make different colored pieces you can slide in there to had stuff or change the color" I think I'll be trying this out!
ReplyDeleteWonderful idea! I tried this with some old maps instead of the scrapbook paper and it looks really cute! Plus, since the maps are kind of "busy" looking, it helps to hide some of the little wrinkles. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a GREAT idea! Thanks so much for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteI think it looks great and I am definitely going to do this with my plastic drawers! Thanks for the tutorial, especially how you managed around the handle. I probably would have made that way more complicated then it needed to be!
ReplyDeleteHee! This showed up on PInterest again today! -Liz B
ReplyDeleteI just found you through Pinterest--great site! And I just love this idea! I have several of these and they will never be ugly again thanks to your clever and wonderful idea! Thank you! I'm off to peek around your blog now and see what else I can learn.
ReplyDeleteCathy ♥
I love this idea! I have a couple of these for sewing items. I plan to use spray paint for plastic on the frame in a coordinating color of papers.
ReplyDeletethis is awesome! thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. I have one of these drawers in my bathroom. I think it definitely needs a make-over.
ReplyDeleteI found you through pinterest and I just did this to my plastic storage bins! Love the idea! The drawers are so cute now. I used pink damask, pink houndstooth, and pink zebra scrapbooking papers for mine. It matches my room now(: Thanks for the idea!!!(:
ReplyDeleteThat is quite possibly the most genius thing ever! I found you on Pinterest. I will be utilizing this baby for all of my totes! ~Megan
ReplyDeleteI live abroad and this is such a wonderful idea to make my home look cute. Thanks so much for sharing and I can not wait to see how it turns out. I have already went out and bought my paper.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea, We use those in our camper for our clothes. I was looking for a way to jazz them up. Here it is!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea! I just posted about my own version on my blog, thanks to your ideas!
ReplyDeletehttp://mrskstreasurehunt.blogspot.com/2012/01/organizing-just-start.html
I loved this ides so much I actually completed it!! (I have a couple little babies :-) My storage containers look great and have inspired me to change the whole look of the area I have them in. Thank you for the idea.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Ashley
I just tried this with homemade mod podge and my papers fell off as soon as it was dry. Anyone have any suggestions? Could it possibly be that my homemade mix was too watery, not enough glue?
ReplyDeleteYou are soooo clever...it never would have occurred to me!!!!
ReplyDeleteCool idea. This is so siimple and easy, yet just a perfect way to make these drawers so much better.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea.
ReplyDeleteFound this on Pinterest and today spruced up my 12 year old daughter's bin. Zebra print paper and black paper with metalic pink lips. She LOVES it. Thanks so much for posting!
ReplyDeleteGREAT IDEA! would you be able to use wrapping paper if the drawers are longer than what scrapbooking paper would cover?
ReplyDeleteGREAT IDEA! would you be able to use wrapping paper if the plastic drawers are too long to use scrapbooking paper?
ReplyDeleteI love it! Great idea. I am so glad I read the tutorial or I would have put the paper on the outside which I am sure would have not looked as good.
ReplyDeletewww.createyourdecor.blogspot.com
Such a fantastic idea!!! I totally am going to do this!! Thank YOU!!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I used tiny photo mounting squares (double sided clear tape) instead of mod podge so no wrinkles and seems to be holding up well....
ReplyDeleteDoing this today! I cant wait to see the finished project!!!!!
ReplyDeletewow i love this project what a great idea!!!
ReplyDeleteHello, I love reading through your blog, I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. Wish you best of luck for all your best efforts. slotted angle racks Delhi, plastic baskets manufacturers Delhi.
ReplyDeleteLooks great!! I am trying this on my 2. Great way to hide whats inside :) thanks for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeletetried it, not as easy as the one shown. I have a different handle and is a lot harder to cut around. Still doing the project just cause I love it!!
Deletenot as easy as it seems. I have a different handle and it is a lot harder to fit than the one shown. I have a LOT of wrinkles and bubbles as well as the paper doesn't fit as well with the style of handle on mine. This is still a great idea and even with all the flaws, it still looks better than it did. Thanks so much for sharing your idea :) LP
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